Ulster Bank posted operating profits of £388m (€575m) last year, up 20% on 2005, according to figures from its parent company Royal Bank off Scotland.
Total income was up 15% to £988m. Loans and advances to customers grew by 28%, while deposits were up 15%. Ulster Bank said attracted a higher share of new current accounts than previously.
Mortgage lending rose by 26%, but the bank said growth was slower in the second half of the year, when it saw 'a more subdued pace of expansion' in the market.
Meanwhile, Royal Bank of Scotland reported pre-tax profits of £9.2 billion, up from £7.9 billion in 2005.
RBS generates about 60% of its profits in the UK, with operations overseas including Charter One banking group in the US, which the company bought for £5.8 billion in 2004. It recently bought a stake in Bank of China.
